Unethical TV coverage

What I saw that afternoon (Saturday, July 6, 1996) on ANteve's program (Cakrawala) was an act of despicable hypocrisy.

The cops were raiding Safari Hotel in West Java in search of Ecstasy dealer/user, but what they got were couples (some are teenagers) conducting unethical behavior (according to ANteve reporter). Those who could not show the wedding certificate were taken to the police headquarters, and that looked just like a party for the reporters.

Well, interviewing this young girl under full TV coverage (the reporters were from SCTV and ANteve), was just as unethical as what they did. Why couldn't they save her embarrassment by leaving her alone or cover her face the way they do to criminals. Even worse, they asked some really unnecessary stupid questions such as why she didn't do it at home, and how many times she had done it. Hello. Mind your own business. The questions they posed for the girl only showed that they are incompetent. I feel sorry for the girl.

I don't know what kind of credit these people got from doing their job that day, but certainly it could mean disgrace and humiliation for the girl and her family, for there must be friends and neighbors watching it that afternoon.

RITA SOEMARNO

Jakarta